You are lucky if your bank pays you 3.0% or more for your money, unless you use one of those high-yield rewards checking accounts that always have a cap on how much money you can put into the account to earn the sometime 5+% yield. And, as you can imagine, the limit isn’t that high (usually around $25,000).

Then there are always new banks coming up with good rates to try to attract customers away from more established banks.

Darby Direct Online Savings Account

Darby Direct is the latest bank I found that offers a very competitive 3.00% APY for its High-Yield Online Savings Account with only $1 minimum initial deposit.

Darby Direct is the online division of Darby Bank & Trust Co, which was established on January 1, 1927. The bank has been a member of FDIC since December 18, 1934 (FDIC certificate number 14580). So you know your deposit at Darby Direct is protected up to the maximum by the law ($250,000 until December 31, 2009).

Other information about Darby Direct:

No monthly fee;

Interest accrued daily, compounded and credited every month;

6 pre-authorized transfers per month;

Links to external accounts available;

Routing number 061211168;

Bankrate.com Safe & Sound Rating 2 stars out of 5 (Below peer group).

Heartland Bank Direct Performance Savings Account

Heartland Bank Direct Performance Savings Account’s 2.30% APY isn’t as good as that of Darby Direct, but beats most online banks easily. There’s also no fee, no minimum for the account, but it does require $500 to open an account. Heartland Direct Bank is a division of Heartland Bank, which was established on January 1, 1887. The bank has been insured by the FDIC since October 12, 1936 (Certificate number 28694).

3 business days ACH holding period;

6 pre-authorized transfers per month;

Trail deposits to verify account ownership;

Interest accrued daily, compounded and credited every month;

Routing number 081074495;

Bankrate.com Safe & Sound Rating 3 stars out of 5 (Performing).

BTW, speaking of new banks with good rates, Redneck Bank, which I discussed early last month, apparently has been overwhelmed by savers’ chase for their 3.10% yield that they decided to shut its door, though temporarily. It comes a little bit too fast, doens’t it?

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No fees, no min, 3%, initial deposit thru ACH transfer, ……..BUT…….once the money is in there, the only option to get a LARGE amount (over 2500) out is by using a $20 WIRE transfer, which has a downloadable FORM, which must have your signature NOTARIZED and then submitted by snail mail.

captainK | Apr 15, 2009 at 2:43 pm

More thoughts…….

The Obama government wants consumers to SPEND not SAVE, to revive the economy. With the TARP money flowing, is there a posibility that the government has used tax payer TARP funding to the banks under the conditions that they LOWER their savings rates?

@captainK Where did you get the information on fund transfer? I went through their website, but didn’t see anything about the wire transfer. If that’s the case, then it will be terrible.

While the government may not require banks to lower their rates once they received the TARP money, I did hear that the FDIC has a rule prohibit “weak” banks from setting rates too high. The rates have to be inline with the something like an average rate determined by the FDIC.

Review of Darby-Direct online savings account.
I sent 4 emails with questions over a 2 day period. Each email was answered within ½ to 2 hours of being sent. The online application was straightforward and I was immediately able to initiate the bill pay feature.
Per Jennifer D. White, Internet Banking Administrator at Darby-Direct:
Darby-Direct on-line savings account can be opened only via ACH transfer initiated by Darby online application with initial funding limit of $10,000. Additional funds can be added via a transfer feature of Darby Bill Pay or via either ACH or wire transfer initiated by an external bank. Wire transfer from an external bank can be made immediately after completing online application, even before initial ACH transfer has been processed. No mailed funds are accepted. Inbound transfer limits of Darby bill pay are $10,000 per day & $25,000 per month; outbound limit is $2,500 per day. There is no dollar limit to deposits made via ACH or wire transfers initiated from external banks. More then two beneficiaries can be added after the initial application. A signature card is not required for FDIC insurance.

Leslie Tobin | May 03, 2009 at 2:14 pm

Darby – is it possible to open a/c with a co-owner living in another state than I.Are checks in the picture? And what is the interest rate now 5/3/09

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